Blogging from A-Z Challenge: R for Rosalind

R for Rosalind:

Pic Courtesy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalind_(As_You_Like_It)

As I contemplated today’s blog-post, several words starting with R came to my mind: R for romance, retribution, reading, rest, retaliation, rectitude, relaxing, et cetera;  but then at the back of my mind, behind the nebulous sheets of inchoate ideas, I located the remnant of a word, the tail, if you may: Lind. Subsequently, the word that materialized from the haunting nothingness was Rosalind, the crown-jewel in the list of masterful characters the Swan-of-Avon begot in his creative life-time.

I guess we all read As You Like It at school under the strict pedantic gaze of our teachers who taught us the Acts and the scenes  so thoroughly that we never enjoyed the wit and humor liberally lathered in the text. It happened to me at least; and so I came back to Shakespeare years later to fill the vacant time at hand during my stay-at-home era in USA.

Being naturally drawn to humorous books and comic creations, I found myself drawn to Shakespeare’s comedies; and while I read As You Like It I felt naturally attracted to the vibrant virtuosity of the featous Rosalind. Dressed at Ganymede and providing love lessons to Orlando, who I always thought was an effeminate male, a weakling, Rosalind speaks the following words when Orlando says that he may die of love:

“Men have died from time to time, and worms have eaten them, but not for love.”

It is the aforementioned quotation that endeared her to me. Her practical realism, in contrast to the idyllic mushy romance of the Forest of Arden, sounds appetizingly-normal. She is the one normal human being who knows the meaning of rationalism and ratiocination. In contrast to the solitary contemplativeness of Jacques, the brooding-man, Rosalind shines in full vigor; her character, her wit and intelligence addto her latent appeal. She is amazing in her male get-up as well as in her feminine guise. As a friend to her cousin and as a lover, she dominates the stage.

 In many ways Rosalind reminds you of Viola, Shakespeare’s charming heroine who also took on the male garb in Twelfth Night. She is the ultimate empowered female, and it is often said that Viola is the synthesis of Rosalind and Julia (Two Gentlemen of Verona). And yet, even though not as full and rotund in the complexity of human emotions as Viola, you can never disregard Rosalind. To me she is one of the most delightful Shakespearean characters I ever met, and if I ever am asked to imagine myself doing one Shakespearean character on stage I would unequivocally choose Rosalind over others.